Do you know what's worth fighting for
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating?
Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins

One, twenty one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty one guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins

One, twenty one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty one guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins

One, twenty one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty one guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,

One, twenty one guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, twenty one guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

249 Comments

General CommentGreat song by a great band. I think that people on this site get very defensive about what they think different songs stand for. A song can be interpreted a hundred different ways. I love when a band decides to let everyone else in on what a song is truly about, but I also love those who refuse to. This song made me feel a lot of different things.

I really took to the line “Does the pain weigh out the pride”. This is something experienced by people every day. Things we choose to endure, whether for selfish reasons or moral reasons.

I also agree with the above stated “21 gun salute” reference. But I think It can be interpreted a few different ways also. It is typically used to honor someone’s life after their death, laying them to rest, but I think that the “anti-war pro-peace” undertones give that a different twist. I feel like it stands for something a little bit bigger. Think about it. ONE 21 guns. As in ONE UNITED 21 guns. ONE UNITED 21 guns laying the war to rest. ONE UNITED action for the peace beyond the difference. You and I.

I also think that the reference to “looking for forgiveness from a stone” is talking about people regretting not cherishing the life/time they had with people before they died. The stone being reference to the gravestone or headstone in a cemetery. Tied into the war, after it’s all over and no one is there to take the blame we have to look at all of the life that we did not cherish. Looking for forgiveness from the dead.